NGTI Unveils MIPTV Slate

LONDON, March 6: National
Geographic Television International (NGTI) has announced its MIPTV slate, which
includes its largest-ever selection of indie product.

Among the offerings are
four programs from Dutch producer Nature Conservation Films that are making
their MIPTV debut. The hour-long wildlife shows are Cheetahs: Against the
Odds, Elephant: Return to the
Wild, The Fawn Identity and Out of the Blue, which looks at man’s relationships with whales
and dolphins.

From Australia’s YNR
Marketing/Ocean Planet Images is Humpbacks: From Fire and Ice. The 52-minute HD special is narrated by David
Attenborough, and follows a humpback calf and its mother during the first year
of her life as they travel from Hawaii to Alaska and back again. NGTI has
distributed previous titles from this producer.

Extending a distribution
relationship that began with last October’s MIPCOM, NGTI will also be bringing
the second season of Towers Productions’ The Final Report, an 8×47-minute property.

Other titles NGTI will
bring to the market include Seed Hunter, produced by Australia’s 360 Degree Films for WGBH/Nova; The
Burning Season, from Australia’s
Hatching Productions with Film of Record and Freshwater Pictures; In Search
of a Legend: Black Leopard, from
South Africa’s Nationwide Distributors; Dead Tired!, from Australia’s Paul Scott Films; and Rebels
of History: Hannibal, from
Germany’s Zeitfilm.

“We are delighted to be
bringing so many titles from independent producers to the market this
year—and are very pleased that much of this large slate is from returning
partners, where we already have a successful sales track record,” said Edwina
Thring, the head of acquisitions and co-productions at NGTI.

“We have a strategy of
working with like-minded factual producers who create shows that sit naturally
under the National Geographic brand—either with a direct fit with our
current catalogue or with titles that are complementary,” she continued. “This
strategy has succeeded in introducing us to some incredible talent from around
the world and some novel ideas. The Burning Season and Seed Hunter for example present two very new angles on the
climate change story and both do so in an intelligent, entertaining and compelling
fashion—and we are really looking forward to seeing buyers’ reactions in
Cannes.”

—By Ned Berke